Tenderness
by Arete Panthar
Summary: During a banquet in the palace, Cleitus rescues a girl who was mistreated by a drunken boy. Apparently they have nothing in common, but even so, is it possible something can flourish between them?


Hi, everyone! This is me trying to write something about Cleitus... once again, thank you toobeauty for inspiring me to think of him in a different perspective. The Cleitus you'll see here is his unexplored side, and naturally it's a little different from the way we are used to thinking about him. And I must say, I'm really liking it!

Sorry about any possible mystakes, they're all mine. And I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

It all happened too fast. Another symposium at the palace, and all that could be heard were the loud laughters, screams and the music from the flutes. Men and women were inebriated, including Alexander's friends. Leonatus was one of them, and he had a girl by his side. The girl was smiling while he laughed hysterically with a goblet of wine in his hand. And suddenly, Leonatus punched the girl in the face.

She fell on the floor, scared and without even understanding what just happened. And before she could think properly, a tall figure blocked her vision.

Without seeing properly, she feared it could be Leonatus, but it was someone else: instead, it was Cleitus the Black. He quickly helped her to stand up and took her somewhere else.

He took her to his chambers, and closed the door behind him. She felt a shiver running down her spine. "The boy was drunk out of his mind. Sit down", he said pointing to a chair.

The girl sat down, while he went searching for something. Cleitus came back with a wet piece of cloth and, kneeling by her side, he took her chin and turned her face so he could see the swollen side. "It's not that bad", he said after analyzing it for a while and pressed the piece of cloth against her face. It was cold, but after some minutes she didn't mind it.

Cleitus left her pressing the wet cloth against her skin, while he continued to drink his wine. She didn't know what to expect from him, and in fact, she thought it was strange what he was doing for her. And, as if he were reading her thoughts, he said:

"I'm not as brute as I look. At least not with women".

Her thoughts were silenced. It was by chance that Cleitus happened to be looking in Leonatus' direction when he saw him punching the girl in the face. Leonatus, being as drunk as he could possibly be, couldn't even recompose himself. Cleitus ran to take the girl out of there before the situation could get worse, after all the girl wasn't to blame for that misbehavior.

And looking at her now, there was something about her that seemed to be fragile. Her white skin, her auburn hair, her brown eyes, her small stature, everything composed a delicate frame. Too delicate for her own good.

She avoided looking at him. A girl like that wouldn't last long in the Macedonian banquets. Cleitus only hoped she wouldn't start crying. "Don't think too hard on that", he advised her, "It's not a good thing to do".

"No, I was just wondering... perhaps he didn't want me".

Cleitus looked at her surprised. She looked as is she were really trying to figure that out. Her eyes were sad, but not as if they were about to shed a river of tears.

"If he didn't want me, I would've appreciated if he had said so. Maybe... I didn't realize it".

She sounded almost as if she would gladly take any excuse Leonatus would come up with, if he had any. "I don't think he didn't want you. He was simply drunk".

She looked at him confused, as if she couldn't think of any other reason for what had happened that didn't somehow include her own fault. How could Leonatus be so stupid to her? "What is your name?"

"Oh... Melissa", she answered in a soft voice. Melissa. It suited her. "Go home and get some rest", he said.

It was Melissa's turn to look at him surprised. Cleitus smiled at her sight. "You're not in the mood to do anything now, are you?"

She was very surprised, but quickly stood up and made her way to the door. Cleitus watched her closely, thinking she was probably a young _hetaira_ , since he knew no noble woman with her name. And she was probably a newbie, for he had never seen her before. With small steps she reached the door, but stopped before opening it. "Thank you for all your help, my lord", she said bowing her head.

"Call me by my name. It's Cleitus".

"Oh. Alright", Melissa said with a shy smile. She knew what his name was, but now she felt comfortable to use it, "Thank you, Cleitus", and with that she went out.

* * *

Some notes: "melissa", in Greek, means "bee", and since it also reminds me of the word "mel" (honey), I thought it was a nice name for a sweet character. That is why Cleitus says it suits her... And _hetaira_ is a courtesan.


End file.
